Building in a Bushfire Prone Area

Construction in Bushfire Prone Areas

After the Black Saturday bushfires much of Victoria was declared as bushfire-prone. This includes almost all of East Gippsland. It is very important to have a fire plan and to prepare your property for the bushfire season.

The information in the following table may assist you to make your property more fire resistant.

Existing Houses

Most existing houses in bushfire prone areas do not meet new bushfire protection standards (Standard AS3959).

Retrofit protection for various Bushfire Attack Levels (BAL), based on Standard AS3959.

New Houses

Landowners building new homes in bushfire prone areas must undertake a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) assessment to determine the construction requirements for their homes.

The Minister for Planning has determined that almost all of East Gippsland Shire is bushfire prone. This means that all new homes located in specified areas are required to be built to a minimum BAL 12.5 providing some level of ember protection. Most houses in a bushfire are burnt because of ember attack.